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Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov
is a character who appears in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. He was a GRU major second in command at Groznyj Grad to Colonel Volgin, also being the colonel's lover. Because of his status as Volgin's lover, he is also the only Groznyj Grad member not of Colonel class to access the West Wing of the Groznyj Grad production facility. Because of this, EVA advised Naked Snake to steal Raikov's uniform and impersonate as him. Snake, after managing to infiltrate Groznyj Grad, had located Raikov and knocked him outThere are actually two scenarios where Snake impersonates Raikov, one where he kills him and one where he merely knocks him out. It's not known which scenario is canon, and even the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database fails to address exactly how Snake deals with him. However, due to certain facts that needed to be taken into account (namely, the reason why Snake needed to get him out of the way and impersonate him in the first place is so he could infiltrate the West Wing of the production facility of Groznyj Grad, and his killing him would actually ruin the infiltration attempt as the uniform would be ruined either from the gunshot wounds or the blood from the lethal wounds of any kind), we've deduced that the Raikov being KOed is, if not officially canon, then at least the only option that would make sense in terms of consequences.. He then dragged him into a nearby locker and after stealing his clothing, leaving him in nothing more than a thong, locked him up in the Locker. Raikov later appears in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops as an unlockable character, found by placing spies in the Western Wilderness before rescuing Naked Snake. Raikov had lost his position due to his abusive ways against soldiers (a reference to MGS3, where the player could attack Soviet soldiers without reprise when disguised as Raikov, as he was "just that kind of guy" from EVA's observations), was imprisoned, and was then promptly exiled to the San Hieronymo Base and imprisoned there (most likely after the San Hieronymo Base was abandoned with it's personnel.). An unspecified time later a spy unit belonging to the resistance group that would later become the FOXHOUND unit had located Raikov, and shortly thereafter was released by Naked Snake (ironically the same person who had masqueraded as him) and his team. It should be noted that it has not been revealed whether he joined in-canon or not. He is essentially, character in himself, although his role in the storyline is served by Snake needing to disable him and take his identity in order to infiltrate Groznyj Grad. Much humor is derived from his resemblance to Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2, himself being a character partially created in response to the controversy surrounding Raiden following his replacement of Snake as the main character in MGS2. Raikov was also a usable character in the original Metal Gear Online bundled with Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Trivia *Raikov's middle name means "Son of Raiden" in Russian. *As noted by Major Zero in a radio conversation, "Ivan" is a Slavic version of "John", and, in English the name "Jack" (Raiden's real name from MGS2) is the diminutive version of "John." Another interesting connection with the name "John" in Raikov's name is that his middle name Raidenovitch literally means "Son of Raiden." The phrase "son of Raiden" could also be interpreted as meaning "son of thunder," and Son of Thunder was another name for the Apostle John (who was referred to collectively with his brother James as "Sons of Thunder"). *His appearances in MGS3 contain other references to Raiden, including, but not limited to: **In the locker in Groznyj Grad where Naked Snake hides Raikov, there is an MGS2 promo poster, featuring Raiden. **If the player is attacked in close quarters by Raikov, he will use the same punch-punch-kick combo as used by Raiden. **If the player interrogates Raikov using CQC in Subsistence, he will say several identical or similar to lines said by Raiden in MGS2, such as "No, never heard the name before." and "We'll tell them everything together." **During the battle with The Sorrow, if the player had previously killed Raikov when stealing his clothes, Raikov's ghost will be walking in the same manner as Raiden does when naked. **Shortly before the torture sequence, Volgin grabs Snake's crotch (while disguised as Raikov) in the same manner President Johnson does to Raiden in MGS2. **If the player is attacked in close quarters by Raikov, he might do the somersault used by Raiden. *While technically not officially confirmed to be canonically recruited into FOXHOUND, the official strategy guide for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops had covered the mission in the main walkthrough, implying that it is canon that he joins FOXHOUND. Notes and References Category:MGS3 Characters Category:MPO Characters